cardinal vine

I finally caught the flowers open at a time when the light wasn't bad and I had time to take the camera out.  I can see this part of it from the kitchen window, though from a different angle.

I really enjoyed this plant when I first had some from a neighbor back in North Carolina in 1998.

It's taking advantage of the deck railing with very little encouragement. I sit out near it as much as I can.

And I think the compost pile is going to be full of seedlings next year. (Looking down at last year's compost from above.)

winter warmth

At last the weather and my chimney guy's schedule let the stove installation go forward.

First, he rebuilt the crumbling top of the chimney and replaced the cap.

You can see how much new mortar there is at the top. All that top row of bricks were pretty much just sitting there by virtue of gravity.

Then, when the masonry had cured, he came back and installed the chimney liner, and put the stove in place.

It looks at home now.

He had expected to have to come back later and insert the stove board under it, but the company shipped it faster than he expected. This somewhat makes up for their having quit making the one I chose from the catalog, which was darker with a faint hint of green to go with those glass tiles the former owners chose. It also had a random pattern of light gray, so ash spills would totally not show. But I'm not complaining because it's finally IN!

(Momentary photo-geeking: I've kept waiting and waiting to be at home when there was better light in the living room. It never happened. The automatic image stabilization on my camera is fantabulous because I shot these last three handheld at f2.7 at 1/20.)

Next step: acquire more wood.

another hitchhiker

This marigold looks as though it came up in the flowerbed from last year.

Only there were no plants of any kind in that bed when I moved in last August. I'm pretty sure that plant hopped out of the pot next to it, which is one I brought from the old house that was rented. Three pots sprouted little marigold seedlings after I got them here. This one must have adventurously leaped for the ground, where it could grow bigger and more healthy than its sisters.

ingenuity

Instant ceiling fan!

wild grapes in the city

I finally got around to mowing the back third of the lot for the first time since May (I drive on it to turn around and face the cars out the driveway so it doesn't grow very fast) and on the tree in the corner I found grapes.

It will be interesting to find out if there are any left by the time they're ripe or whether the wildlife eats them green and I don't get any.

Did you notice the spots of red to the left? When I first saw them, I thought it was spicebush, but they're growing on a vine.

I don't think I've ever seen such berries before, and I'm wondering if it was planted there by past humans or by the birds.

hitchhikers

When I transplanted all those iris and peonies, I brought some other things without knowing it. I was very pleased to see the Queen Anne's lace come up among the peonies. I shall take care not to smother it in mulch next spring.

mugs for July

This time I hung the Christmas dog mug up to look at it and see if inspiration would strike. So far, it hasn't.

I still think this paint is far far far too dark, but the more it lives with my kitchen stuff the better I like it as a color. This picture goes to prove that not everything in my kitchen is blue.